


Midnight

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: The Pretender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-06
Updated: 2007-02-06
Packaged: 2017-10-07 00:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She didn't know what woke her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midnight

She didn't know what woke her, but Miss Parker went from sleeping to waking in an instant. She reached for her gun and pointed it to the corner of the room as she sat up in bed. She was wearing no more than a thin silk slip, and it was a bit chilly. It was sometime after midnight, but she would have to lose sight of her shadowy target to look at the bedside clock.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Jarod said quietly from a chair in the corner of the room. He sounded sorry, but Miss Parker didn't trust it.

"How did you get in here?" she asked through grit teeth.

"I unlocked the door," he replied easily. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. She could see his easy smile, and he held a clip of ammunition in his hands. "You'll need these for that gun to do any damage."

Miss Parker risked a look and saw that her clip had indeed been removed. She swallowed down the curse on the tip of her tongue and lowered the gun to her lap. She could always throw it if need be, and Jarod didn't look as though he was about to do something dangerous. Yet.

"When did it come to this?" he asked, voice soft and contemplative.

"When did what come to this?"

"Not being able to talk," he replied. His eyes bored into hers, and she couldn't make herself look away. "We used to be able to."

"That was a very long time ago," Miss Parker began, voice clipped and hard. "I work for the Centre now. I'm supposed to bring you back."

"I know," he answered, nodding. "We used to be close, though. We used to talk. Now it's just messages I leave behind, or phone calls. I wonder if you can still read between lines? Or did they take the fun out of it for you?"

Miss Parker's jaws were clamped tight, and she fought the impulse to throw the gun at Jarod's head. She was sure that she wouldn't miss. "What do you want?"

"I suppose I want to know what happened. If I can figure that out, maybe I can figure out why we keep on running in circles. There has to be more than this for us."

Something in her chest burned, but she ignored it. She was very good at ignoring things that didn't matter, and feelings were high on that list. "There's nothing else. You have to come back to the Centre. There's no discussion."

Jarod tossed something at her, a low underhand. She let go of the gun and caught it. The object in question was a Wonder Woman Pez dispenser. "You're giving me _candy?"_

"It reminded me of you," he said softly. "That's what got me thinking. Something's not right between us. We used to be friends. We used to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about anymore."

Jarod shook his head, not believing that for a moment. "Where do you want to go next?"

"What?"

"You're following me, right? I leave clues behind that you follow." He got up slowly, and moved toward her. Miss Parker made no move toward her gun, and so he sat down on the edge of her bed. "Where do you want me to go? I'll lead you wherever you want to go."

Miss Parker shivered at the intensity of his gaze, at the sound of his voice sliding across the skin of her shoulders. "I liked Paris," she said, voice soft. She couldn't believe it, but that was her voice, all right.

He smiled, a joyful thing to behold. "I like it there, too. The food is wonderful."

"You always did like food," she replied, smiling almost against her will.

"Life should be lived, don't you think?" he asked, leaning in slightly. Her mouth ran dry at the sight of his smile. "I just want to live. I haven't figured out what to do with it yet, but I know I'll think of something."

"I'll be there when you figure it out, won't I?"

"I hope so," Jarod murmured. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grasped her hand in his. "I hope that you'll help me."

"I don't know if I can," Miss Parker murmured, her breath caught up in her chest.

He kissed her then, soft and tender. "I think we're all capable of more than we know," he murmured, rising. "Good night, Miss Parker."

"Good night," she murmured, watching him leave. "See you in Paris."

His grin was all the answer she needed.

 

The End


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